Young pitchers help Knights overpower Marauders | Softball

Kamiak was able to take a peek into the future during its game against district rival Mariner.

Two of the Knights’ younger pitchers saw action in Kamiak’s 15-3 victory in a Wesco 4A softball game Tuesday, May 1, at Kamiak High School.

Freshman Katelyn Sonnichsen took over in the circle in the third inning from senior Cecilia Robbins and allowed one run and struck out five batters. Sophomore Lindsey Greenfield closed out the final two innings, which saw Mariner score two runs and strike out five times.

“Katelyn looked really good for her two innings,” Bradley said. “I liked seeing Lindsey, when she got a hit off of her, she settled right back where she needed to be.”

Other Knights also made the most of their appearances. Junior Riley Haworth drove in three runs with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning  a hit that extended the lead to 12 runs and ended the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.

“I liked that I was able to get a lot of the girls in the game that don’t get a lot of playing time,” Bradley said. “They all hit well.”

Junior Jackie Rookaird was calling some of the pitches for her teammates after taking a seat in the dugout from her center field duties.

“We have a lot of potential,” said Rookaird, who also is a pitcher for Kamiak. “We saw that today.”

Freshman shortstop Jadynn Bushnell, in her second game back from a finger injury, doubled to center field to drive in freshmen Camdyn Robinson, who led off the bottom of the first inning with an infield single.

With the bases-loaded and one out in the second, Rookaird tripled to right field to extend the Knights’ advantage to 4-0.

“You have those little moments when you have to clutch up,” Rookaird said. “I felt like that was a good time to get the ball rolling.”

Rookaird then scored on an infield out by Robbins.

Freshman Natalie Smullin and junior Ella Dahl each drove in a run in the third and the Knights also scored on a passed ball.

Mariner scored a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Araceli Urrutia that scored freshman Mackenzie Graham, who was hit by a pitch.

Kamiak (6-7 in the league, 8-9 overall) took a 10-1 lead in the fourth on an RBI single by junior Heidi Baird and a ground out that scored a run.

Graham’s triple in the fifth enabled sophomore pitcher Mariana McMurtie to score. Senior Nia Hawkins then singled to center field to drive in Graham to cut the Kamiak lead to 10-3.

Mariner coach Nathan Beachy was pleased to see the Marauders finally swinging the bat well.

“For the first time in a long time, we were barreling up a few more balls than just one,” he said. “It was nice to see us put a little rally together. We’ve been working a lot at being aggressive on the first strike we see.”

The Knights responded with two runs in the fifth. Bushnell hit a RBI single and later scored on a passed ball.

In the sixth, Kamiak’s Cameron Weaver, Smullin and Dahl all singled and all three scored on Haworth’s single to center field to end the contest.

Beachy noted that Mariner struggled on defense with several infield and outfield errors that contributed to the loss.

“Our defense was nowhere where it needed to be for us to compete today,” he said. “But overall we were pretty happy with our hitting and our at-bats and the approach we took today in the box. The last three games we’ve had a lot harder hit balls.”

Mariner outfielder Araceli Urrutia charges to field the ball during the Marauders 15-3 loss to Kamiak.

Looking ahead to next week’s district tournament, the Knights need to work on their offense.

“We need to be able to continue hitting the ball around and stringing hits together,” Rookaird said.

Kamiak left nine runners on base in a 5-3 loss to Monroe on Monday, April 30. Rookaird and Greenfield each had two hits.

“It’s a good sign that we can hit them,” Bradley said. “We’re competitive with them. It’s a good sign for now and next year.”